Web Content Writing Syllabus 2008:WebWritingAndDesign

Web Content Writing Syllabus 2008

This page is updated during the semester

Texts

Required

Redish, Janice (Ginny). Letting Go of the Words. Morgan Kaufmann, 2007. $32.97 at Amazon.

If you haven't taken ENGL 4170/5170: Web Design

Siegel, Kevin. Essentials of Adobe Dreamweaver CS3. IconLogic, 2007. $39.00 at IconLogic. Or use ISBN: 1-932733-20-5 to locate a copy. We're using Adobe Dreamweaver CS3, so earlier editions of Siegel won't apply.

Announcements

Tues 26 Aug

introductions
WCWStatement

for Thurs: Seeding a brainstorm

Make a list of 10 - 20 possible web site ideas
Ask friends or group you might address what they want a website to do: a task or set of tasks they would like to accomplish with a website.
Bring the list with you on Thursday

Thurs 28 Aug

intro wiki: GettingStarted
some discussion on projects

for Tues 2 Sept

Tidy up your WikiName page. Use PageIndex to get back to the page.
Read Reddish, chaps 1 - 2. Consider what she mentions about what users on the web do. Constructing audiences as personas, and tasks as scenarios. Bring questions on Tuesday.
Post your project possibles to your Project Ideas page

update Thurs 27 August, 4:00 pm. People have already started to develop their WikiName pages and post their project ideas. If you're stumped, have a look at MalloryMeredith | BethJensen | ChristopherMiles | BrianaFrench.

update Mon 1 Sept 9:00 am The login page was mis-set. It's fixed now and should be working ok.

You can add your WikiName to the participant list below if you like.

for Tues 2 Sept

Tidy up your WikiName page. Use PageIndex to get back to your page.
Read Reddish, chaps 1 - 2. Consider what she mentions about what users on the web do. These chapters outline our strategy for designing web text: construct audience personas and define their tasks as scenarios. Bring questions on Tuesday.
Post your project possibles - that list of 10 - 20 site ideas - to your Project Ideas page. Ask friends or group you might address what they want a website to do: a task or set of tasks they would like to accomplish with a website.

Tues 2 Sept

OV and questions on Reddish
setting up for Dreamweaver Essentials
See NotesOnDreamweaverEssentials

Mod 1 and 2 due Tues 9 Sept
Mod 1: Print out your index page with your email address on it at the end of the chapter.
Mod 2: Print out the table you worked on at p. 48
Mod 2: Print out the button bar layout at p. 60

group work on the wiki: deciding on projects

Deadline: Thurs 4 Sept: end of class

Project(s) outlined by end of class. Groups and members organized
Start group page and ProjectProposalWorksheet. Refer to Reddish, chap 2.
BGuideProjectOverView2008
BGuideShoppingBarsAndRestaurants | BGuideArtsAndEntertainment | BGuideAthleticsOutdoorsAndRec | BGuideSupportServices

Tues 9 Sept

Printouts from Mods I and 2 due at start of class.
Start Mods 3 and 4. Due next Tues.

Mod 3: p. 79 81. Print any page using the template.
Mod 4: p 114 112. Preview page in browser and print. The background might not print, depending on how you have your browser set.

Continue work in class on Project Proposals and getting ready for persona interviews and development.
Draw on Reddish chap 2 to develop user groups and preparing persona interview questions: from pp 12 - 19.

Thurs 11 Sept

Work on parts 2 - 3 face to face.
Each group reports: Where are you? Read your purpose statement, user groups. Problems? What's next?
Use Reddish chap 2 to define and refine user groups, and for planning interviews. You need to talk to potential users to discover and ground your content choices. Plan this under part 3 of the Project Proposal. Refer to Reddish, p 12 (Seven Steps), and pp 14 - 19 to prepare.
Friday evening: Should be ready to start to interview potential users and record notes. Might still be working on part 2.
I'll be reviewing proposals and leaving comments on Saturday.

for Tues 16 Sept

Read Reddish, chaps 3 - 4
Proposal part 2 finished. Interviews underway.

Update 14 Sept
It looks like each group has a solid start: the goals and purposes are sketched in enough to point you towards potential visitors; you've located some related sites (that will need reviewing); and have organized yourselves to share the work. It's time to get some real information from real potential users by talking to them. As I mentioned in my comments, draw extensively on Reddish, chap 2, to guide your discussions with users. The more stuff you can elicit about how they work and think, about their values and attitudes towards the kind of content you're gathering, the better your writing for the site can be; you can fine tune it to suit the specifics of the situation and the visitor. The result is, you'll see, a different kind of relationship between the user and the site - between you and the reader - than you find at other sites. Reddish, chap 2 for interviews.

Tues 16 Sept

Mods 3 and 4 due. Start Mods 5 and 6.
Reddish, chaps 3 - 4
Be ready to work with Reddish in class.
SCSU, Century College, MSU Mankato, MnSCU

Tues 23 Sept

Mods 5 and 6 due
Start Mods 7 and 8
Mod 7:Print any page showing the Spry menu you created.
Mod 8: Print any one of the pages listed on p. 177, under step 5.
In class: Drafting personae and scenarios. Start new page for each persona and scenario. Refer to Reddish, chap 2. Devise a couple of scenarios for each persona. See Reddish on secondary users as scenarios.
More interviewing to develop personas

Thurs 25 Sept

Working with Reddish, chap 4 in class
SCSU, Century College, MSU Mankato, MnSCU: Pathway pages. Look at Future Students and one other pathway. MSU Makato pages don't print correctly. Need to use screen shots.

Deadline for persona and scenarios, Tues 30 Sept.

Tues 30 Sept

Look at and discuss your pathway pages.
Deadline for persona and scenarios. Print each out and post them in the classroom.
Groups introduce us to your visitors. All discuss, refine, add to personas and scenarios.
Refine and revise user goals and purpose statement given the personas you're working with.
More detail at Wikipedia on personas and scenario (computing)
Mods 7 and 8 due
Mods 9 and 10 for next Tuesday
Mod 9: Print any page at the end of p. 192 (cropped images)
Mod 10: p. 209: Arrange the elements on the page and print. Print with the logo on the right hand side of the page.

Thurs 2 Oct

Persona introductions continued.
Groups introduce us to your visitors. All discuss, refine, add to personas and scenarios.
Refine and revise user goals and purpose statement given the personas you're working with.

With personas and scenarios planned, you can get started on creating drafts of content for your site - even before we set up the sites on the server.
To plan out what to work with, start your ContentInventories.
for Tues, read Reddish, chap 5.

Tues 7 Oct

Update: 6:30 am Tues 7 Oct: Prof Morgan is ill. Use the time to continue to develop your ContentInventories.

Server was down for a couple of hours Tues am between 8 - 10:00. It's back.

Thurs 9 Oct

Class will meet.

Mods 9 and 10 due
Mod 11 and 12 assigned.
Mod 11: print at end of p 229
Mod 12: print at end of p 262. See if the page will print showing an image and text.
Review and debrief on Reddish, chap 5. Breaking content into topics (time, task, people, kind, questions) and designing pathways to those topics.
Look at pages at http://english.mnsu.edu/
Review ContentInventories. Make each entry as specific as possible so anyone reading it is clear what's needed. Post a copy on your classroom workspace.
Organize classroom workspace. Big paper, stickies, markers ...

Start drafting

Use the wiki or a plain text editor for drafts
Don't format text, but leave formatting instructions.

Tues 13 Oct

Site design
Selecting and tweaking templates
Read for Thursday, Reddish chap 7: Designing Web Pages for Easy Use
Mods 11 and 12 in

Thurs 15 Oct

Selecting and tweaking templates, using Reddish chap 7: Designing Web Pages for Easy Use, and chap 5: Writing Information.
Review of Reddish, chap 7: design, writing style, and organization of content compliment each other.
Some of chap 7 applies to content design. We'll focus right now on the topics that apply to page design.
focus on content: images should be content-oriented rather than decorative
design to differentiate content / nav areas, not as wrapping paper. Choose colors for use.
need global nav to other subsites in header or footer
work with wireframes > template
snippets:footer, header, nav, content
walk through options

2 col hybrid: creates fluid layout with medium line length
left side nav
header and footer using snippets
footer at 80%
global nav in footer: 2 column
global nav in header
side nav: Tree view B
site properties: control link states

stay in your comfort zone: pages don't need to be shouldn't be over designed.
use DW > Help
play with template and choices
save what works and decide from there
designate tasks
http://www.useit.com/: some design elements
Settle on directory names. Choose your home machine and classroom workspace.
BSUGuide/ArtsAndEntertaiment ...
BSUGuide/StudentServices ..
...
All mods due

ContentInventories.

Make each entry as specific as possible so anyone reading it is clear what's needed. Post a copy on your classroom workspace.
Organize classroom workspace. Big paper, stickies, markers ...

Drafting

Use the wiki or a plain text editor for drafts
Don't format text, but leave formatting instructions.

Selecting and tweaking templates

use Reddish chap 7: Designing Web Pages for Easy Use, and chap 5: Writing Information.
design to differentiate content / nav areas, not as wrapping paper. Choose colors for use.
need global nav to other subsites in header or footer
work with wireframes > template
use snippets: footer, header, nav, content
use DW > Help
designate tasks

Tues 21 Oct

Name classroom workspaces.
End of class today/Weds am : Post a wireframe of your template to your classroom workspace. Big paper.
Student sites from 2006 - 7
Design of http://www.ox.ac.uk/current_students/index.html (via Kerri)
Shuttle between a global view and local view right now.
Work independently outside of class to develop content, inventories, ...
Template reminders

Need global nav to BSUGuide home and to subsites in header.
Footer should contain provenance info and link to About page.

Set directory names. Choose your home machine and classroom workspace.
BSUGuide/ArtsAndEntertaiment ...
BSUGuide/StudentLifeServices ..
...
Set up sites so you can work on template and design.
http://calstaging.bemidjistate.edu/
Use Dreamweaver Help

Thurs 22 Oct

Project index at calstaging
Site maps: big paper. Page titles, kind (pathway or content) , primary and secondary nav
placeholder linking (using # or pageName.html
Milestone

- Site map planned, template selection, tweaking, and template design finished by end of day Friday, 24 Oct.

index.html page uploaded

Tues 28 Oct

Workday. I'll discuss site maps, templates, wire frames, and getting started with page drafts with groups.
It will help to create a sketch page of content for each page you're planning. Start drafting while template person is working with the template.
Upload your revised site each day.
Expect and plan to be working on pages outside of class.
Post draft content to pages on the wiki.
Expect a chapter from Reddish this coming weekend.
Project index at calstaging

Thurs 30 Oct

Work time in class
Template finalized?
Some content pages should be appearing ...
Project index at calstaging

Tues 4 Nov: Vote!

Template tweaks

http://calstaging.bemidjistate.edu/sites/bsuguide/outdoors/
replace widget with typographic bullet (option-8 on mac)
title documents!
Arts: I need to look at your template. There's some javascript code in it.

Workflow: prepping and uploading images.
Images need to sized to fit your site or the page. They can't be easily adjusted in DW.
Start with raw image. Do not upload. Keep them in a folder outside of DW folders.
Use Photoshop > Save for web.
Resize to size needed for site.
Save prepped images to images folder.
In DW > Insert image.

For Thursday

Reddish: Review chapter 5: Information, Not Docs, and 7: Designing Web Pages.
Reddish: Read chapter 6: Focusing on Your Essential Messages. Chapter 6 is about getting a focus on the visitor's needs, and macro-organization on the page. Chaps 8, 9, 10, and 12 are how to do it.

Thurs 6 Nov

Discuss Chap 6. Be ready with some examples of and options for layering information on your site. You may already have some on your site. You may be able to prep them for Thursday. Or you can show how they might work using a paper or chalk demo.
worktime
Upload what you have to the server before leaving for the day.

Tues 11 Nov: Veteran's Day: No class

Thurs 13 Nov

Project index at calstaging
Upload what you have to the server before leaving for the day.

Tues 18 Nov

exercise or work with Reddish: chap 8
Reviewing where you are and where you're going
http://calstaging.bemidjistate.edu/sites/bsuguide/support/transportation.html
http://calstaging.bemidjistate.edu/sites/bsuguide/support/academics.html
http://calstaging.bemidjistate.edu/sites/bsuguide/shopping/restaurants.html

other examples

Thurs 20 Nov

workday

Tues 25 Nov

Groups report: What have you done so far, what are you doing next.

Thurs 27 Nov

Break

Projects

Announcements

Tues 2 Dec

workday

for Thursday: Reddish: Chap 8

Consider these pages in light of Redish's 10 Guidelines. Come prepared to discuss them in those terms.
Starting point: Read not for personal preference but for how the prose addresses purpose - to help visitors locate information about topic or idea - and addresses visitors - conversation, or other.

Thurs 4

Discussion of Redish, chap 8
For Tues: Redish: Chap 12: Links

Tues 9 Dec

Last day of class
About: page. In a similar tone as the rest of the site, identify who you are and what you did on the site. Consider it an informal introduction. A good about will break the ice so that if someone has questions they will feel free to contact you.

Note

Dec 10: Finals Prep Day: from 9:00 - 12:00. HS 109 will be in use for 18th Annual Share the Future Workshop.

Thurs 11 Dec: 3:30 - 5:30

Doors open at 2:30 - maybe before
Final presentation of your site. Each group will have 20 minutes to present what they have done, including a review of your personas, maps, early versions and changes, the site's current state, and what you plan on changing before final evaluation. Cover the history of your site, from inception to finish. Speak to how particular choices you made in your information design and your text go back to the personas and your goals. No need to discuss the visual design. Focus on how you chunked out the site: pages, page titles, category terms, headings, and dominantly, the information you selected and the prose you wrote. At every turn, take your consideration back to the Redish text, discussing how you either follow her principles, adapted them, or rejected them. Be ready for questions, and the groups observing should ask questions they have or offer connections.

Final evaluations of sites will start 16 Dec.

on deck

Redish: Chapter 11: Using Illustrations Effectively. Writers will be called on to select images that suit user-friendly purposes, to bring word and image together.
Illustrations

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WebWritingAndDesign : WCWSyllabus2008